Peter Hannaford: sanctions against Ukraine would have the opposite of the desired effect

EU should sign the final Agreement even if not every reform called for has been put into effect, provided Yulia Tymoshenko is released, Peter Hannaford, a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, claims in his article for The American Spectator.

“A democratic and economically strong Ukraine is important to the U.S. as well as to the EU. In a recent opinion article in the New York Times, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst, suggested that if Ukraine fails to meet the EU conditions the latter should invoke sanctions on Ukrainian political leaders (presumably Yanukovich and others). That would have the opposite of the desired effect. It would strengthen the clamor by a Ukrainian minority that is pushing for a new trade agreement with Moscow,” notes Hannaford.

“The EU should sign the final Agreement even if not every reform called for has been put into effect, provided a way is found to follow the Lutsenko action with one involving Tymoshenko. Once Ukraine is “in the tent” with the entire EU, it will be easier to continue pursuing the other reforms to a successful conclusion. Carrots are almost always better than sticks,”he believes.